ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL!?

Hi there everybody. How are you doing this cold morning? I am well… the last day before the kids go back to school! YAY!!!!! I’m gonna dance a jig tomorrow LOL! Today is another multi-cooker day while I clean… I conquered the pile that was surrounding my desk and I found the floor! YAY for me! But I didn’t get any sewing or such done. I did make a couple of small trips to the store for mass stuff like sugar, flour, etc… things I buy in bulk and was just about out of until I could do the monthly cabinet inventory. And make the BIG trip LOL! Just wait till tax time! That’s gonna be a scary stock up run! I normally drop about $1K total! Oh and get this… I read my blog to the hubs yesterday morning and he called me a dork! OMG! How rude! And my kids… OMG they are so getting on each others’ nerves, and well quite frankly, I find it so funny! They are bickering like crazy this winter… probably because its been such a rainy one and they haven’t been able to get out and do much! This past 2 weeks has made me realize how I need to get some summer activities planned so they don’t drive me crazy! LOL. Don’t get me wrong… I love them very much… but they can really yank my crank! Its all about budgets… last summer we went to the Blue Bell Creamery and the Jersey Barnyard, which cost us maybe $100 for the whole day for all of us! Check out the Jersey Barnyard here! We did some local fun activities as well. I need to do some researching on what we can do cheap this summer… if ya got any ideas, let me know LOL! And if I find some before you, I’ll be sure to share! Look at these pics from the Creamery and Barnyard… they had fun LOL!

This is everyone in front of the first refrigerated ice cream truck for Blue Bell... Everyone wore their cute paper hat except sorry sport Michael LOL!

Here they are with their yummy free scoop of ice cream at the end of the tour!

They have all kinds of stuff to do at the barnyard... feed calves, milk cows, the Hay Maze, the tractor ride... you name it! We had fun!

Ok so how many of you are into football? Got any parties planned? Well, football is HUGE around here (if ya haven’t already guessed)… high school, college, and NFL! Got my favorite college team, the Texas Longhorns, going to the bowl on the 7th (YAY) against Alabama… me and the hubs are at odds right now LOL! Then we have Superbowl on February 7th… YAY! Having a huge party here at the house on the big screen for that one! I would LOVE to see my Dallas Cowboys in this year… so I’m gonna pray to the sports gods that they get the chance LOL! We’ll have to see who the 2 are that will be going before I make my decision on who to root for…

Well, like I said, today is gonna be a multi-pot dinner with the no-fuss crockpots making my life simple yet again! I didn’t get around to the clam chowder or the hot & sour soup yesterday so I am gonna try to get to it today. I DID however make that Peasant Goulash and the gang ate the whole entire pan… I had 1 serving left! I also made the chicken & dumpings and the pulled pork. They ate well. So I’m gonna share the Goulash recipe with you today.



Peasant Goulash

Ingredients

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound of beef bottom round roast, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
4 onions, cut into thin slices
3 ounces button mushroom caps
1 cup fat free beef broth
1 can (14oz) stewed tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cocoa
2 tablespoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon browning and seasoning sauce
8oz. Wide egg noodles

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Add the beef, onions, and mushrooms and saute, stirring occasionally, until the beef is lightly browned and the onions are translucent, 6 to 8 minutes.

2. Remove the beef mixture to the crockery pot. Pour the broth into the same skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring and scrapping constantly for 2 minutes to deglaze the skillet. Pour into the beef mixture. Stir in the tomatoes, garlic, cocoa, paprika, marjoram, and pepper. Cover and cook on LOW or HIGH until the beef is very tender- 6-8 hours on LOW or 4-6 hours on HIGH. Stir in the browning sauce.

3. Cook the noodles according to package directions. Drain well and divide among 6 plates. Top with the beef mixture.

OK now for today’s meals… gonna try again to get around to the clam chowder and hot & sour soup. And I found the cutest little oyster mushrooms I might try adding to the Clam Chowder or the Hot & Sour too. See what happens LOL! In the crocks I am making slow cooker chicken taco soup, creamy tortellini soup, and some sweet & sour pork. The S&S pork will be served with rice. The tortellini soup with homemade garlic bread, and the taco soup with homemade tortilla chips, cheese, and sour cream. Oh and I got my shrimp I was drooling over the other recipe, so I am gonna marinate those bad boys and eat them for lunch! YAY! LOL… Since I’ve shared the soups in previous posts, lets share the pork today.



Slow Cooker Sweet & Sour Pork

Ingredients

2 tablespoons plus 1-1/2 teaspoons paprika
1-1/2 pounds boneless pork loin roast, cut into 1-inch strips
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 can (20 ounces) unsweetened pineapple chunks
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1/4 cup cider vinegar
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
Hot cooked rice, optional

Directions
1. Place paprika in a large resealable plastic bag. Add pork, a few pieces at a time, and shake to coat. In a nonstick skillet, brown pork in oil in batches over medium-high heat. Transfer to a 3-qt. slow cooker.

2. Drain pineapple, reserving juice; refrigerate the pineapple. Add the pineapple juice, onion, green pepper, vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and salt to slow cooker; mix well. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until meat is tender.

3. Combine cornstarch and water until smooth; stir into pork mixture. Add pineapple. Cover and cook 30 minutes longer or until sauce is thickened. Serve over rice if desired.

Well kids, its late in the morning (for me anyway) so I better get off here and get to work! After I dance around in my underpants screaming Joy to the World tomorrow morning, I’ll post again and let you know what all I got accomplished (or didn’t LOL) and what’s for supper LMAO! Until tomorrow… HUGS!